By Bilal Chalabi
The UCI Road World Championships return to Montreal in September, 52 years after Eddy Merckx won the rainbow jersey on the city’s Mount Royal circuit. Nearly 1,000 riders are expected to compete across the elite, under-23 and junior categories during eight days of racing. Thirteen routes have been prepared for the championships, which take place between 20 and 27 September. The programme includes individual time trials, road races and the mixed team relay. The elite men’s road race closes the event on the final Sunday.
Cycling followers increasingly consume the sport through television, streaming services, fantasy competitions and digital entertainment platforms that may also include online slots. Yet the decisive numbers in Montreal will concern distance, elevation and the number of times riders must tackle the same short climbs.
The elite men will race more than 273 kilometres
The elite men’s road race covers 273.2 kilometres and includes approximately 3,720 metres of climbing. It begins in Brossard, south of Montreal, before passing through several municipalities and crossing the Samuel De Champlain Bridge.
The opening section measures 112.4 kilometres. It should give breakaway riders an opportunity to establish an advantage, although national teams are unlikely to allow a dangerous group too much freedom.
Once the race reaches Montreal, the peloton enters a 13.4-kilometre circuit around Mount Royal. The men complete 12 laps, meaning the same climbs and technical sections gradually become more demanding as fatigue accumulates.
A total distance above 270 kilometres places the race close to cycling’s longest one-day events. Milan-San Remo is normally longer, but its climbing is distributed differently. Montreal offers repeated ascents and limited recovery between efforts, which should make it harder for pure sprinters to remain in contention.
If the winning time is close to six and a half hours, an average speed of 42 kilometres per hour would be required. Weather, attacks and the composition of the breakaway could move that figure considerably.
The Mount Royal circuit contains several opportunities to attack
The Camillien-Houde climb is the longest regular ascent on the finishing circuit. It rises for 2.3 kilometres at an average gradient of 6.2 percent.
Those numbers appear manageable in isolation. Repeating the climb 12 times changes the calculation. The elite men will cover 27.6 kilometres on Camillien-Houde alone, with each ascent requiring teams to maintain position before the road begins rising.
The Polytechnique climb is shorter but contains sections above 11 percent. Steeper gradients can split a group rapidly because riders near the back must respond to changes in pace after reaching the climb later than those at the front.
Parc Avenue provides an uphill approach to the finish. A reduced group that survives the earlier attacks will still face a demanding sprint rather than a flat run to the line.
The circuit creates several possible winning strategies. A climber can attack on Camillien-Houde, an explosive Classics rider may wait for a shorter ascent, and a strong finisher could try to preserve energy for the final kilometre.
Repeated circuits also make information easier to collect. Riders learn where the wind is strongest, which corners require braking and how much effort is needed to hold position. By the final laps, however, physical condition matters more than familiarity.
The women face 2,502 metres of elevation
The elite women’s road race is 180 kilometres long, with approximately 2,502 metres of climbing. It begins with a 72.8-kilometre approach before reaching the same Mount Royal circuit used by the men.
The women complete eight laps. That gives them 18.4 kilometres of accumulated climbing on Camillien-Houde, in addition to the Polytechnique ascent and the uphill finish on every circuit.
The difference between the elite road races is 93.2 kilometres. The men also complete four additional laps, but the central tactical problem remains similar. Teams must decide how many riders to protect, when to begin applying pressure and which attacks deserve an immediate response.
A race of 180 kilometres is long enough to punish poor fuelling. Riders must eat and drink before hunger or dehydration becomes noticeable because the body cannot quickly recover once its energy stores have fallen too far.
Team size will also matter. A country with several possible leaders can respond to attacks without committing its strongest rider too early. Smaller teams may need to choose between chasing immediately and saving resources for the final circuits.
Men and women receive the same time trial distance
The elite men’s and women’s individual time trials both cover 39.9 kilometres. Each course contains 195 metres of elevation gain, making it much flatter than the road-race circuit.
The route includes part of the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, which hosts the Canadian Formula One Grand Prix. Riders then cross the Concorde Bridge and head towards the city centre before finishing on Parc Avenue.
An identical distance makes direct statistical comparisons possible, although differences in weather and start time may affect the results. Wind direction is especially important on exposed roads and bridges, where a change in conditions can favour riders who begin during a calmer period.
At an average speed of 50 kilometres per hour, a rider would complete 39.9 kilometres in approximately 47 minutes and 53 seconds. An average of 48 kilometres per hour produces a time just under 50 minutes.
Small differences become significant over that duration. A rider losing half a second per kilometre would concede almost 20 seconds by the finish. Poor cornering, an incorrect pacing decision or an uncomfortable aerodynamic position can therefore decide the medals.
Remco Evenepoel is chasing a fourth consecutive time trial title
Remco Evenepoel enters Montreal with an opportunity to win a fourth consecutive elite men’s individual time trial world title. The Belgian won in 2023, 2024 and 2025, giving him three rainbow jerseys in the discipline before turning 27.
The Montreal route should suit a rider capable of holding high power on flatter roads while managing the technical sections efficiently. Evenepoel’s aerodynamic position and experience in championship time trials make him an obvious contender.
His three consecutive victories also affect the tactics of his rivals. They know the benchmark is likely to be extremely high and may feel pressure to start aggressively. On a course close to 40 kilometres, riding above a sustainable pace during the opening section can result in larger losses near the finish.
Evenepoel is also expected to contest the road race, where Belgium can field several possible winners. Wout van Aert has twice finished second in the elite men’s road race, taking silver in 2020 and 2023.
Mathieu van der Poel has prepared specifically for Montreal
Mathieu van der Poel will return to the elite road race after missing the 2025 championship in Rwanda. He plans to use the Tour de Luxembourg, held between 16 and 20 September, as his final stage race before Montreal.
The Dutch rider won the road world title in Glasgow in 2023 and took bronze one year later. Montreal offers him a realistic opportunity to claim a second rainbow jersey because the repeated climbs are difficult without being excessively long.
Van der Poel’s challenge will be surviving the combined total of 3,720 metres rather than one decisive mountain. Opponents may try to make the race hard well before the final lap, forcing him to use energy responding to attacks.
Tadej Pogačar is another rider well suited to the circuit. His climbing ability makes the accumulated elevation manageable, while his record in long one-day races shows he can attack at a distance and maintain a gap.
Montreal has waited 52 years for another road world championship
The city last hosted the championships in 1974, when Merckx won the men’s road race. Geneviève Gambillon claimed the women’s title, while the event became the first Road World Championships staged outside Europe.
Canada later hosted the competition in Hamilton in 2003. Montreal 2026 is therefore the country’s third edition and the second held in the same city.
The statistics point towards an open set of races. The road courses have enough elevation to eliminate many sprinters, but the climbs are short enough to keep powerful Classics riders involved. The time trial offers a separate contest based on pacing, aerodynamics and sustained speed.
Twelve Mount Royal laps, 273.2 kilometres and 3,720 metres of climbing will eventually reduce the men’s field to its strongest survivors. The final result may depend on one attack, but the opportunity to make it will be created by the thousands of smaller efforts completed beforehand.
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